Should I Call CPS Now or Later?

Lately we've been having a problem with our kids - apparently they love us too much! You know the problem - the one where your kids can't be in another room - more than two feet away from you - where they expect you to entertain them and become extremely crabby when you suggest things like playing outside, playing with toys or in some way being independent from the adults...

So this morning we decided to send them to one of two locations so mommy and daddy could have some alone time. The gate (see above) served two purposes:

1. Kept Tyler from climbing upstairs or falling downstairs.
2. Allowed the girls access to either their room or the toy room downstairs.

After about 20 minutes of this, it became painfully obvious to me that I should call CPS on myself for "locking my children up." Rachel (above) shows her excitement for being locked up. And with the look on her face (below) they were not forced to stay behind the gates much longer...

I Love Fridays

There is just something about the end of the week that makes me smile. When I worked full time it always signaled the end of the work week and two days off, no wonder I liked it so well. Once I quit working I still loved Fridays, it tended to be the day where I did what I wanted to do. It normally entailed lunch with my mom and then shopping and then home to watch some Oprah while waiting for my husband to get home. Things have changed a little in my life and unfortunately I seem to always have some work to finish up on, but I still like to make it a fun day. Today was no different. I joined some great friends, Becky and Jami, at Chick-fil-A for some really good chicken sandwiches and great conversation. There is just something about sitting around a table with just your girlfriends while the kids are off playing that just feels good.

The other thing I love about Fridays is knowing that my hubby will be home with us for two days. The girls count down the days during the week until daddy gets to stay home with us. I love spending two straight days hanging out as a family, going to church, and catching up with friends.

Oh yeah, I also get to sleep in on Saturdays ,daddy gets up with the kids and makes pancakes on Saturday mornings. Now that is something to look forward to...

Pumpkin Pie for All

It's that time of year again - the cool fall air, the leaves falling from the trees and pumpkins just dying to be carved up for Spook Day. As the Alpha Male in the house it falls on me to do the honors. The girls weren't much help - they just wanted to use markers on them when I was done... Needless to say, I didn't take a huge amount of time on each one. But I doubt the kids are old enough to understand that yet. Allison and Rachel took pretty good pictures with their pumpkins. Tyler on the other hand had to be propped and entertained just to get this one shot. Apparently he doesn't care for the pumpkins much.

And then there are the actual pumpkins. Not much to look at, but then I was carving with inferior cutlery... The The girls got the typical jack-o-lantern faces, but Tyler got the Spidey face (or at least as close as I could get it...)

Date Night Rocks

Monday night Tammy and I took the kids over to the Callenders' house so we could have our date night. We have been alternating date nights (almost) weekly for the past year or more. It's a great time to get away from the stress of parenthood and reconnect in the more important relationship.

Needless to say, the typical is dinner and a movie. Call it the Indiana Initiative, the Mishawaka Modality or the South Bend Situation. Regardless, it just seems like the only thing to do in town.

Monday we broke the mold slightly. We did dinner at TGIF and did a little light shopping. Tammy took some things back to Kohls and Old Navy. I looked at some sweatshirts...

After that we went to B&N (that's Barnes & Noble for the book store challenged...). Here's what happened:

Daryl read: CSS web design RSS & Atom feeds XML web design Blogging with blogger Other technical stuff...

Tammy read: The latest Nicholas Sparks book Thumbed through Wild at Heart

And that's what we did - nothing fancy - but there's nothing better than hanging out with your wife doing mundane things. It's the company that turns mundane activities into special memories. (I think I read that in a Nicholas Sparks book...)

: )

Walking Tall

So last week I tried numerous times to get a video clip of Tyler walking, and of course he always stopped doing it when the camera came out...

So this is not the first walk by any stretch of the imagination. But it is a good example of what he looks like trying to walk around the house. I think he almost has it down.

Next, the stairs...

This Makes My Blood Boil

You have all probably heard recently about the mother in California who threw her 3 boys into the San Francisco Bay, if not check check out the story. When I hear stories like this I get so mad, I cannot even at times put into words how this affects me. My first reaction is to find that mother and throw her into the Bay. I just don't understand how a mother can do that to her children. As mothers we are supposed to protect our children, not harm them. We are the ones they depend on for that, they trust us. They trust us to catch them when they fall, they trust that we will take care of all their needs, they trust that we will not let anyone harm them. So imagine what those kids must have thought as their mother, the one they trust, throws them over the edge.

Now, are there times when I am at my wits end with my kids and I feel like I could scream? Absolutely, but would I ever do anything to hurt them, NO WAY. In fact I get mad when I see other people hurt them and not just in a physical manner. I get mad when someone else hurts their feelings. There is just something inside of me that wants to protect them at all costs. Now I know that there will be times when I cannot protect them as they get older, but you better believe that for right now if you mess with my kids you mess with me.

So, I know there are some of you out there who will say but she was mentally ill, she did not really mean to do that. Well, let's talk about that for a minute. She very well may have been mentally ill, the article says that she was on medication for a mental illness, but she chose to go off of her medication because she was feeling "better". I just don't understand why people do that, don't you go on medication to feel better and feel more normal? If so, then why do people go off of them when they feel better. I have seen this happen with people I know and it drives me crazy. The article also says that she told her family that she was going to harm her children and they did not believe her. I just don't get it. Why would you not take that seriously, especially coming from someone who has a mental illness and is off of her meds. There were people in the family that went to the authorities and tried to tell them that she was not capable of being a mother and no one listened. Actually they may have listened, but they obviously did not hear.

These children were failed my so many people and it just makes me ANGRY. If you choose to have a child, BE a parent. What does that mean in my book? Protect them, do everything in your power to make sure that they are safe at all times. Know where they are and who they are with at all times. When your children are little this means if they are not with you then you better really KNOW and trust where they are. If someone else is watching them stop in unannounced, maybe even at times when you know it is the most chaotic. If they are old enough to tell you that they don't feel safe, believe them. It may be inconvenient for you, but it is not about you. If they are older, know their friends and know where they are at. I had a rule in my house growing up that my mom always had to know who I was with and where I was going and if plans changed she had to know. I have already decided that when our kids become teenagers there will be a sign posted on the door with the 5 "W's", who, what, where, why, when. Before they leave the house those questions will be answered and if I think they are not being totally honest you better believe I will be in my car checking up on them.

Daryl and I have already decided that our house will be a safe haven for our children, this will be a place where they will know they will be loved and protected no matter what the cost.

I beg you BE a PARENT, and not just to your own but to all the other children out there who need you. Not only will I protect my own, but I will also do all I can to protect those who have no one to protect them. Their lives are in our hands.

Bonneyville Mill

I had the privilege of taking Allison on one of her field trips today. We went to Bonneyville Mills in Bristol, IN and learned all about how mills work. We got to mill corn by hand and see how the mill works with the power of water from the river. The pictures above do a fairly good job describing the trip. Alina (seen in a couple pictures with Allison) rode with Allison and me in our van. She had a great time and gave Allison someone to laugh with on the drive there and back...

Introducing... My Husband

For those of you who don't know, this is my husband Daryl. We have been married 6 years and they have been the best 6 years of my life. I met Daryl while we were both working at Madison Center for Children as Case Managers. I remember going to lunch with all the Case Managers (all of us were pretty close and did lunch together a lot) right after he started and we just sat and asked him all kinds of questions. I remember thinking, sure he is handsome and nice enough but he is a little too quiet for me. Well he started hanging out with all of us outside of work and before I knew it we were doing more and more together. We officially started dating on April 17, 1997, got engaged on April 17, 1998 and were married on June 19, 1999.

I never thought I would be so happily married. Of course I had always hoped for a wonderful marriage, but let's be honest it is not very often that you see happily married couples. I have the best husband there is for many reasons and here are some of them:

-He loves and obeys Jesus
-He adores his 3 children (he took tomorrow off so he could go on a field trip with Allison)
-He works hard so that he can support me and our kids
-He loves our church and loves being a part of the Livewire team at GCC
-He rubs my feet (which he is doing right now)
-He has no problem doing whatever needs to be done for the kids
-He cleans the toy room
-He cooks when he has time and it is very good
-He gets up with the kids every Saturday morning and makes pancakes
-He makes sure his family is at church and that it is a priority in our house
-He will go to chic flicks
-He kills all the insects in our house
-He helps me fold laundry
-He gives me cards just to tell me he loves me
-He will dance with his daughters while they are dressed up as Cinderella
-He lets me put my ice cold feet on him when we go to bed
-He listens to Country Music when I want to

This is just a short list of the things I love about him. I could go on and on. He has 2 little girls and one little boy who adore him and a wife that cannot imagine her life without him. He has played a huge part in making me the woman I am today. There is truly no one else I would rather be sharing my life with. I love you Daryl McMullen.

Wake Me Up When September Ends

Green Day has a new song called, Wake Me Up When September Ends (recently a performance song at the church we attend). And while I'm not sure exactly why they were sleeping through September, I feel their pain, because September wasn't exactly the best of times in my life and the life of my family. It was fairly stressful (not exactly sure why) and just dragged on there for a while...

But now that October is here, things seem to be going a bit better (at least for me). Here is a list of things that seem to be going well in my life right now and things that I am thankful for:

• Fall is officially here - Hence I don't sweat as much...
• The lawn looks better than it has all summer
• I watched the Denver Broncos win the other day
• The NHL is back (though not completely sure I like all the new rules)
• Did I say fall is officially here?
• My kids are growing up and say the wackiest things
• Tyler is walking
• Allison and Rachel dressed up in their Princess costumes the other night
• Gas is not over $3.00 a gallon like predicted
• It's not cold enough to need the furnace all day
• I get to go to Granger Community Church (usually two times a week)
• I get to do web ministry at GCC with an awesome team of professionals
• I get to hang out with some really cool people on a weekly basis
• I get to come home to Tammy every night
• I get to be a Christian and receive amazing grace
• I get to go to heaven some day

And this is the short list...

Hello Moto

Tyler just loves to show us that he is a boy through and through. The girls never got the engine sound down and yet Tyler has mastered it in the first year of his life... He loves playing with his trucks, cars and especially his new motorcycles (watch out Tyler - you know you're mother will never allow you to own a real one...)

PS - Never mind the baby doll he has in his other hand - that was a fluke accident...

Walkin' on a Thin Line

Tyler has finally decided that crawling is for babies...and though he cannot sprint accross the living room, he can take 4 or 5 steps in one direction before the backside hits the ground!

Eschatonline

This is my invitation to join me on a slightly different journey. I recently began my own blog on eschatology (the study of end time events). I'll still post on this blog, but will now have a more focused outlet for my minds wanderings. I will put a link on the sidebar so you can easily find Eschatonline in the future.

Go to Eschatonline Now

Krispus Kremus Rediculus

I love Krispy Kreme doughnuts just like the next guy. And every time I've gone there I've experienced this surreal atmosphere where there are more employees than humanly necessary, everyone is smiling from ear to ear and there is the sensual aroma of icing and coffee in the air...

Unfortunately this picture I had of the doughnut shop was blown way out of the water this morning at 5:45 a.m. when I rushed in to get 3 dozen doughnuts and a coffee box for the training I was putting on at work.

It started when I realized the Hot / Now light was not on. Next I realized there were only three or four employees behind the counter. Then I noticed there were no doughnuts rolling off the line. But I continued on and placed my order for three dozen doughnuts (2 original and 1 with the chocolate glaze). It took them a good 15 minutes to complete my order since the doughnuts they gave me came off a covered rack somewhere in the back of the store. All this without a single smile...

Frustrated, I took my doughnuts and coffee and sped on to work - only to find out after the training that the attendees had to choose from one dozen original, one dozen blueberry and one dozen pumpkin spice!

Needless to say, I will still frequent the "Double K" but it will be during regular business hours only. Also, I will be sure to make eye contact with each and every doughnut placed in the box...

Overwhelmed

So it is 10:45pm and my whole family is in bed right now, yes even Daryl. He has to be at work tomorrow at 7:00am so he headed to bed pretty early tonight. I am sitting here on the couch enjoying a moment of peace and quiet, blogging and watching Oprah on UPN. As good as it feels to be sitting here doing nothing, I find myself thinking about all the things I should be doing. There is laundry in the dryer that needs to be folded, the dishwasher needs to be started, there are dishes that need to be washed by hand, the kitchen floor needs to be mopped, the kids clothes need to be put away (from doing laundry yesterday), the family room and every other room in our house needs to be dusted and this is just stuff that needs to be done on one floor in our house and there are 2 more floors.

Then I start to think about all the stuff I need to do for work. I don't even know where to begin with that, besides the fact that I have case notes to finish from last month. I HATE case notes!!!! I would rather do just about anything else in this world but do case notes. I just need to employ Becky's old technique for doing case notes. I really need to find a job where case notes are not needed, but unfortunately in my field they are part of the territory. If just someone would have told me this in college, I may have changed my major. Okay maybe not, but I still think I should have been warned.

There just does not seem to be enough time in the day to be the person I want to be. I want to be a great mom, great wife, great friend, great employee, great daughter/granddaughter/niece/sister and most of all I want to be a great leader for the cause of Christ. I just don't feel like I ever have the time to be those things. There are times that I get so overwhelmed with what I have to do that I don't even know where to start. I very quickly find myself thinking, if only I did not have to work, if only there wasn't so much to do to take care of a house, if only this, if only that. It is then that I just have to step back and know that I am only one person and can only do so much. This is much easier said then done though. I know that God is in control and that He will sustain me and with His help things will get better, but at times I think the rest of my life may feel this way. The things that get me through are hearing Allison tell me that she loves me all the way to Heaven, having Rachel tell me that I am the best mommy in the world, watching Tyler take his first steps, and seeing my awesome husband walk through the door. It is then that I know that I can do it all over again tomorrow.

So with that said, it is off to bed I go to get ready for another day. Though I think I will go start the dishwasher before I head to bed, one less thing to do tomorrow!

Allison Hits the Big 5

Allison officially turned 5 today (9:10 on 10/9 for those wondering...) and I was the lucky dad that got to take her out for the afternoon. As the photo above explains, we started by seeing Madagascar at the dollar theatre. She was a bit antsy and even asked when it was going to be over (but she knew we were going shopping after the movie...).

Next, we went to Target and picked out some Strawberry Shortcake lip stuff and the brand new Cinderella Special Edition DVD.

And finally, we stopped by Ritters Frozen Custard to satisfy that craving for something sweet.

It was the first time I can recall us doing actual father-daughter bonding. Hopefully we can do it more often so when she turns 17 she will still want to hang out with me...

Later that day I heard Tammy talking to Allison about her delivery, how small she was and how it seemed like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital. It is definitely strange to think that we've had kids for 5 years! And while it seems like just yesterday, it also seems like we've lived this way for years. Surprisingly it's one of the best feelings this life can offer...

Tyler's Buds

Tyler had a great day on Friday. He had two of his best buddies here to play with. Carter spent most of the day with us which was great fun. After lunch Tyler and Carter had the chance to sit on the floor and play. Tyler finally had someone to play cars and trucks with. It was so funny to watch the two of them. Tyler kept crawling over to Carter to give him hugs and would just lay his head in Carter's lap and almost knock Carter over. Carter would get his balance back and just look at him with a look of "what are you doing" and then go on playing. I can't wait to watch them grow up together, hopefully they will be great friends!

As Carter walked out the door, Jacob (another one of Tyler's buds) walked in the door. Tyler gets to see Jacob many times a week and it is so much fun to watch them play together. Jacob does such a great job playing with Tyler. It was so cute on Friday night, Jacob was pushing Tyler around on his new Thomas the Train push toy that he got for his birthday. Of course it makes noise and plays the Thomas song, so Jacob would push the button that made that noise and Tyler would move his body to the music as Jacob pushed it while we all laughed hysterically. Jacob also saved Tyler from the big bad red machine-also known as the vacuum. For some reason Tyler is very afraid of the vacuum, which I have yet to figure out. It isn't like I ran over him with it or anything like I did his sister (that is a totally different blog entry). So while Daryl ran the vacuum(hence the look on Tyler's face)that night Jacob sat with Tyler on the couch and protected him. I wish there was not such an age difference between the two of them, but hopefully Tyler will always look up to Jacob and follow his example.

Tyler in Sugar Shock

Tyler Eats More Cake

Excuse Me - I Burped

It's Official

Well, the big day finally arrived. Allison and Tyler had their "combined" birthday party and it went off without a hitch. Here you see the two lucky participants and the other one (that asked all week why her birthday was in June...)

All the friends were over and had a blast in Papa's basement.

As you can see Allison had a great time and feels fairly confident that she received all the things she was hoping for. You should have seen her eyes when Uncle Ryan brought out her new Princess Bike!

Tyler not only got to stuff his face with cake and ice cream, but he also got TRUCKS!!! Lots of trucks and other manly stuff that we don't usually see in our home. He had a great time and is obviously happy at the type of toys he got. Oh yeah, he was glad to see Carter there too...

Stay tuned for a few video clips from the big bash...